ACADEMICS

The environment and principles of sustainability have long been integrated into undergraduate and graduate programs at UAB. Our graduates develop a strong understanding of the global challenges and the tools to devise solutions through classroom study, service-learning projects and study abroad. UAB offers more than 90 courses that can broaden your understanding of sustainability issues and provide key insights into the complex environmental problems.

Examination of conceptual, political, and legal aspects of human rights from an anthropological perspective. Topics considered may include: state violence; the history of human rights claims; the opposition of cultural rights and human rights claim; human rights as a form of political discourse; human rights practices in select contemporary settings.

This course explores the topic of Historical Ecology and examines the relationship between humans and their environments from the perspectives of history, anthropology, archaeology, ecology, and biogeography.

Experiments on topics essential to study of environment and which reveal complexity of solving environmental problems. Writing, Ethics and Civic Responsibility are significant components of this course.

Air/water pollution and solid waste. Quality of environment. Environmental health. Regulations and legal considerations. Must have a grade of C or better to complete this course. Ethics and Civic Responsibility are significant components of this courses.

Major topics and problems in modern earth science. Nature of solid Earth and its atmosphere, climatic change, Earths resources, interaction of Earth with sun, and planetary geology. Selected readings and videotapes.

Economic analysis and its use in dealing with business and governmental problems. National income, price-level, employment, governmental fiscal policies, and international economics. Not open to entering freshmen. (CORE AREA IV).

Use of economic analysis to examine interaction between economic institutions and physical environment. Specific topics: social costs and benefits of economic growth, interactions between private business and public welfare, and socio economic systems and goals.

Problems of economic development; growth of less developed economies compared with those of advanced economies. Theories of economic development. Policy measures to promote development of growth, with emphasis on measures to accelerate development of countries.

Introduction to basic problems, concepts, and management practices of industrial distribution firms and manufacturing relationships. History of types of distributor organizations, functions, and role of industrial distribution in economy.

This didactic lecture course will examine how components of the world around us impact our lives and health. The classic battle of nature (genes) vs. nurture (environment) is being replaced with the understanding of how our exposure to our environment impacts gene expression, which can increase (or decrease) our own likelihood of disease. Using everyday, real-world examples we will study the environment-gene interaction and how this helps determine why some people are more disease prone than others. Each example will focus on the underlying science and the medical consequence of exposure, and will also examine exposure prevention strategies for individuals and practical legislation to reduce environmental contamination. Examples will vary from year to year, but damaging examples may include nanoparticles, smog, medical radiation, drugs and alcohol, pesticides, noise, indoor air pollution, toxic metals, plastics, food and water contamination, and sexually transmitted infections. We will also discuss how the environment can positively impact gene expression, and will include discussions of functional foods (i.e. nutraceuticals such as soy, green tea and garlic) and other alternative medicinal therapies. Prerequisite: BY116 or equivalent is required; completion of or registration in BY210 or BY330 is recommended.

This introductory course is designed to teach public health graduate students the fundamental concepts of environmental health science, the scientific research methods used to study the interaction between human health and the environment, and basic issues in the management of occupational and environmental health problems. Prerequisites: Admission into the MPH program or permission of instructor. College level biology and/or chemistry strongly recommended. This course is also available online with permission of the instructor.

An integrated introduction to air and water pollution, including its sources, transport, and effects. Focus will be on measurement and characterization of air pollution and the bio-assessment of water quality. Regulatory control of pollutants and the technical aspects of engineering controls will also be given emphasis.

Design and conduct of studies examining health effects of environmental exposures. Strengths and limitations of research strategies and interpretation of study results. Areas of interest include air and water pollution, lead, and biological marker outcomes.

Analysis of social, economic and political problems confronting the world's poor countries. Topics examined include national responses to the following problems: child soldiers and child labor; government corruption and transparency; ethnic conflict; environmental destruction; social inequality; globalization; and cultural preservation.

To present students with an initial, in-depth exposure to concepts, technical skills and research findings associated with the integration of computer technology and health communications. Course will be graded by letter.

Familiarizes students with public health and legal issues with regard to children. The course provides background on international law and international human rights law, and international treaties focused particularly on children, followed by the role of public health in achieving these rights and lessening the gap between theory and practice. Prerequisites: Only available to School of Public Health degree seeking students.

Moral problems and dilemmas in medicine and health affairs; elementary methods and concepts of moral philosophy. Problems typically include, among others, AIDS and human and animal experimentation. Ethics and Civic Responsibility are significant components of this course.

This is an introductory course in game theory. Topics include game forms, Nash and subgame perfect equilibrium, von Neumann-Morgenstern utility theory, design and solution of games, strategic implications of uncertainty and information asymmetries, institutions and elementary mechanism design, and basic evolutionary game theory. All topics are taught by application to examples from business, politics, law and individual behavior. Course work will include analysis of philosophical implications and applications. One previous PHL course or permission of instructor required. Quantitative Literacy is a significant component of this course (QEP).

Change as ever present feature of contemporary, global societies. Comparative analysis of the impact of change on societies and citizens in Developed and Lesser Countries. Application of change theories to contemporary issues.

How certain social conditions or behaviors come to be seen as social problems, why they persist and how they can be changed. Emphasis on understanding contemporary issues, and how diverse social groups are impacted by them.

Scope and method of population analysis; analysis of growth, distribution of characteristics, and changes of population of U.S.; impact of changes in population structure on American and world society.

Examines the interaction between the biophysical environment and human society, how social processes, define, construct, and alter the environment, and human causes and consequences of environmental problems.

Spatial distribution of social, demographic, and physical factors in urban environment; distribution of population by age, race and class; competition for land between businesses and homeowners; consequences of local ecology for poverty, health, etc.

This didactic lecture course open to students from all majors will survey current issues and challenges in our global and local environmental and how those impact our health. It will examine the sources, exposure routes, regulation and health outcomes associated with biological, chemical, and physical agents in the environment, both naturally occurring and man-made. We will examine these agents and how they impact air, water and food quality to cause disease. Regulatory agencies, risk assessment and disaster response and preparedness will be discussed.

The intellectual tools of public health describe diseases from cholera and pandemic avian influenza to obesity and diabetes that threaten the integrity of organized societies. This course explores the richness of public health through its disciplines and its stories to demonstrate how the understanding of the origins of epidemics determines the progress of civilizations.

The course will provide students with a basic understanding of epidemiology history, methods, and practice. The history of epidemiology will focus on major historical events such as John Snow and the 1854 Broad Street cholera outbreak . The course will also cover basic epidemiologic methods such measures of disease occurrence (e.g., prevalence and incidence) as well as basic study designs such as case-control and cohort studies. Later in the term, students will utilize actual epidemiologic investigations in order to learn how these methods are put into practice. The coursework will focus mostly on discussion for the first part of the course focused on the history of epidemiology. The section on methods will primarily be problem-based, performing basic analysis of epidemiologic data through calculation of prevalence/incidence and measures of association (e.g., prevalence ratio, incidence rate ratio). This work will lead to students to prepare a document on how they would respond to an outbreak in a situation described by the course master. The entire coursework will take place in a lecture format, with the class meeting twice a week.

This course is designed to provide students with an appreciation of the interdisciplinary nature of global health, its history, successes to date, and current challenges. Students will be introduced to basic concepts of health disparities, major causes of morbidity and mortality worldwide and determinants of health. Students will be introduced to challenges of health care organization and delivery and will discuss health as a human right. Finally students will discuss key 'players' in global health and how partnerships are essential for addressing health needs worldwide. Lectures, discussion, and case studies will be integral teaching elements of the course.